Created on: 11 Jun 2024 | Last modified: 12 Jun 2024
Glasgow teachers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action with 96% voting Yes to Action Short of Strike and 90% voting for Strike action, in a ballot organised by the EIS.
The Consultative Ballot of more than 5000 EIS members in Glasgow was conducted as the next stage in the dispute the EIS lodged with Glasgow City Council (GCC) on March 15th which called for a reversal in the proposal to cut 450 teaching posts over GCC’s three-year budget.
125 posts were lost over this current school session with a further 172 being axed now ahead of schools returning in August.
Commenting, Jane Gow, the Secretary of EIS Glasgow, said, "The EIS is crystal clear that the loss of jobs vital to Education provision in Glasgow will irreparably damage the life chances of many of the city’s young people and most especially those with additional support needs.
"Already 45 of our Primary Schools will see all teachers fully class committed with only the Head Teacher available to provide support for all pupils, staff and parents. This will mean there is little or no capacity for small group or one to one provision for those pupils in most need of nurture, literacy and numeracy support."
Ms Gow continued, "Fewer teachers in the Secondary sector where pupil rolls are increasing will undoubtedly lead to larger class sizes which will see a dramatic reduction in teachers’ ability to attend to the needs of their most vulnerable pupils. The steady erosion of funding to Education in Glasgow has impacted on our ASN sector with young people who have complex needs being placed in schools not designed to meet those needs.
"This has had the most profound effect on our most vulnerable of pupils and seen a dramatic rise in violent incidents because of a severe decrease in resources to support dysregulated behaviours."
Ms Gow added, "Teachers in Glasgow have today said No to cutting teacher numbers and the irreparable damage this would inflict on our young people now and in decades to come. This Consultative Ballot will be followed by a Statutory one if there is no movement from GCC to end this dispute and reverse these swingeing cuts to education in Glasgow."